Wikitongues/Reports/2020
The Wikitongues User Group was recognized as a Wikimedia user group in May 10, 2018. This report outlines our accomplishments and activities between May 3rd, 2019 and May 2nd, 2020.
Overview[edit]
Wikitongues is a not-for-profit organization and volunteer community that educates the public about linguistic diversity and how to sustain it. In particular, we help people around the world create and archive documentation in their languages, especially video oral histories and distribute guides for getting involved with language preservation, revitalization, and sustainability.
Our user group was founded with two objectives:
- Facilitate Wikitongues contribution to Wikimedia projects, especially in the form of language content on the Wikimedia Commons.
- Promote linguistic diversity in the Wikimedia movement through language-centered events and campaigns.
Content[edit]
Wikitongues began contributing to the Wikimedia Commons on June 24th, 2016, about two years before our user group was recognized. As of this report, we have contributed 352 language videos to the Wikimedia Commons, representing 274 unique languages. A lifetime index of videos contributed to the Wikimedia Commons may be found here. Between May 3rd, 2019 and May 2nd, 2020, Wikitongues volunteers recorded 55 CC-by-SA 4.0 videos, representing 57 unique languages. Of these, 38 videos representing 34 unique languages were added to the Wikimedia Commons and in some cases, Wikipedia. The remaining 19 videos were either added after May 2nd, 2020, or have not yet been added.
Languages on Commons[edit]
Between May 3rd, 2019 and May 2nd, 2020, Wikitongues contributed videos for 34 unique languages to the Wikimedia Commons.
| ISO Code (639-3/6)* | Language Name |
|---|---|
| alt | Southern Altai |
| acm | Mesopotamian Spoken Arabic (Iraqi variety) |
| hye | Armenian |
| asm | Assamese |
| ban | Bali |
| bgp | Eastern Balochi |
| bft | Balti |
| eus | Basque |
| bem | Bemba |
| bcl | Bikol, Central |
| ceg | Chamacoco |
| nld | Dutch |
| hus | Huastec |
| hun | Hungarian |
| ilo | Ilocano |
| mjw | Karbi |
| lac | Lacandon |
| abs | Ambonese Malay |
| mlt | Maltese |
| mdl | Maltese Sign Language |
| rwr | Marwari |
| meh | Southwestern Tlaxiaco Mixtec |
| nkb | Khoibu Naga |
| num | Niuafo’ou |
| oci | Occitan |
| ote | Mezquital Otomi |
| pol | Polish |
| fuf | Pular |
| sme | North Saami |
| nso | Northern Sotho |
| tel | Telugu |
| tcy | Tulu |
| ukr | Ukrainian |
| vro | Võro |
Videos and Audio on Commons[edit]
Between May 3rd, 2019 and May 2nd, 2020, Wikitongues contributed 38 videos representing 34 unique languages to the Wikimedia Commons.
Events[edit]
To promote multilingualism on Wikipedia projects, we organized translate-a-thons and record-a-thons, the latter of which is an event format for contributing oral histories—representing oral and traditional knowledge—to Wikimedia projects.
Translate-a-thons[edit]
Wikitongues organized no translate-a-thons during this period.
Record-a-thons[edit]
At Wikimania 2019 in Stockholm, Wikitongues maintained a recording booth for Wikimedians to contribute their languages. During this time, we recorded the 11 videos in 15 languages.
| Featured languages by ISO Code (636-3/6) | Featured languages by name | Video File |
|---|---|---|
| glg | Galician | not yet uploaded |
| ibo | Igbo | not yet uploaded |
| deu | German, Standard | not yet uploaded |
| cat | Catalan | not yet uploaded |
| eng, xwj | English, Wajuk | not yet uploaded |
| hye | Armenian | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WIKITONGUES-_Irina_speaking_Artsakh_Armenian.webm |
| fon, gbx, guw | Fon, Gbe, Eastern Xwla, Gun | not yet uploaded |
| min | Minangkabau | not yet uploaded |
| nds | Saxon, Low | not yet uploaded |
| ukr | Ukrainian | http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WIKITONGUES-_Vira_speaking_Ukrainian.webm |
| twi, dga | Twi, Dagaare, Southern | not yet uploaded |
Cross-Collaboration[edit]
Art+Feminism, Wikimedia Norge, Wikimedia UK, and Wikimedia Deutschland[edit]
In coordination with Artandfeminism, Wikimedia Norge, Wikimedia UK, and Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikitongues drafted a conference and event grant application for Artic Knot, which we will co-organize in 2021.
Wikimedia Norge[edit]
In coordination with Wikimedia Norge, we recorded two fluent speakers of North Saami, an Indigenous language of Norway.
-
North Saami video, included in the Videos and Audio on Commons table above.
Presentations[edit]
Wikimania 2019[edit]
- Daniel Bogre Udell (talk) delivered a full-length talk about language revitalization online.
- Kristen Tcherenshoff (talk), Subhashish Panigrahi (talk), and Anass Sedrati (talk) hosted a panel discussion about how the Internet can elevate minoritized and Indigenous languages in the public sphere.
Finances[edit]
Wikitongues is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation registered in the U.S. state of New York since 2014. Our fiscal year runs from January to December. During our User Group's second year, which ran from May 3rd, 2019 to May 2nd, 2020, we allocated our budget exclusively to programs outside Wikimedia and, as such, all Wikitongues contributions to Wikimedia were entirely volunteer-driven without supporting expenses. Our organization's Statement of Activities for the period of May 3rd, 2019 to May 2nd, 2020 is included below.
Revenues, Gains, and Other Support[edit]
| Item | Restricted funds | Unrestricted funds |
|---|---|---|
| Contributions and other revenue | $0.00 | $52,245.26 USD |
| Total expenses and losses | $0.00 | $69,959.41 USD |
| Net assets on May 1st, 2019 | $0.00 | $15,420.23 USD |
| Net assets for May 2019 to May 2020 | $0.00 | -$2,293.92 |
| Change in net assets | $0.00 | -$17,714.15 |
Gallery[edit]
-
Wikitongues Meetup at Wikimania 2019 in Stockholm
Reflections[edit]
Last year was the first time we formally contributed videos to the Wikimedia Commons, which means we were working with a vast backlog of content, so this year's contribution numbers more accurately reflect our capacity to expand language content on the commons. Going forward, we will measure our growth from this cycle. Our Commons category page is better organized from last cycle, but our content curation could be improved over all. In particular, we don't have a concrete strategy regarding contribution to Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and other relevant projects besides the Commons.
Going forward, we should build our capacity to:
- Contribute strategically to Wikipedia and automate indexing our contributions to the same
- Cultivate and sustain a sense of community between the members of our user group, without relying on in-person meetups at events like Wikimania